I occasionally see postings by a certain Oober talking about taking a "12" on a par three or describing some fantastical hole where he putts into bunkers and ends up with an "18". Whether any of these stories are true is beside the point. What is relevant is that at some point a golfer needs to just pick up and move on (the exception being when you are in a medal play competition and you do not want to withdraw or be DQ'd).

The USGA handicap formula limits any single hole to a maximum of "10" or less depending on one's handicap. It seems to me that once one hits "10" it is time to pack it in for that hole and move on. It is somewhat impolite to force the other players in one's group to watch (and wait) while one totally hacks apart a hole. Not to mention the poor golfers following one's group.

If you have the entire course to oneself or you are in a tournament, then this rant does not apply. However, in almost every other situation, picking up and going to the next hole seems reasonable once you hit "10".

I think double par is a good "pick up" point (6 on a par 3, 8 on a par 4 and 10 on a par 5).

I know people who don't take higher than an 8 on any hole, which is the same thing as double par expect you're switching the triple bogey from the par 3s to the par 5s and the quintuple bogey from the par 5s to the par 3s.

On our (informal) clubevenings we usually pick up at double par + 1. If one really needs that many strokes, I'ld suggest to switch to stableford.

Double par is a pretty good time to pick up and move on... if you are doing that on every hole however, it's time to go to the range or find another sport. I never could figure out how people keep playing this sport when they constantly shoot 135+. I mean how fun can that possibly be?!

I don't ever pick up.

Bryan K wrote:

I don't ever pick up.

Why?

Attempting to not be critical, what benefit do you see in hitting that 11th or 12th shot?

I said pick upp at 12 but I sometimes just play out the hole. Yesterday on a par 3 I chipped into a deep bunker and needed 6 shots to get out, including a back handed shot. I then 3 putted for 12.

... and you still finished 74, right?

You know, we all have been hackers at one point. I don't care if people need a lot of shots, I just don't like it when people need 45 seconds per shot. On average, 15 seconds shoukd suffice. Taking 45 seconds creates an extra 45 minutes on a round for a typical mid-handicapper.

jev wrote:

... and you still finished 74, right? You know, we all have been hackers at one point. I don't care if people need a lot of shots, I just don't like it when people need 45 seconds per shot. On average, 15 seconds shoukd suffice. Taking 45 seconds creates an extra 45 minutes on a round for a typical mid-handicapper.

I'm with you jev. I think the "preshot routine" of some of the guys i play with is entirely too long. I think 15 seconds is a little short for any shot from the tee or fairway. My tee and fairway approach is 20-25 seconds on a bad day. That's enough time to get a line to the target, check face alignment, grip, foot alignment, take as many as two practice swings, take a deeeeeeep breath and pull the trigger. That's a lot of stuff. on chips and putts, it's less because there's not nearly as much in the way of mechanics and things that can "go wrong".

The guys that do the sergio regrip 5 times and take 6 peeks at the hole before hitting just bug me. 5 or 6 practice swings on a simple chip is a little overkill too. It's as if the club has moved in their hand and the hole is walking away, they need to keep checking.

Ok i'm done. LOL.

birdieXris wrote:

I think 15 seconds is a little short for any shot from the tee or fairway. My tee and fairway approach is 20-25 seconds on a bad day.

I don't think 15 seconds is too short. Remember, this is on average, it includes tap-ins and drives, counted from the time a player arrives at the ball up to ball-contact.

I'm a referee and put a flight on the clock recently during matchplay championships. One player (handicap 20) consistently took 10 to 12 seconds per swing. She didn't look rushed but just arrived at the ball, club already in hand. One practice-swing, take stance, waggle and hit it. On the greens she took 3 to 5 seconds to find a puttingline, lined up, hit. Never more than 15 seconds per putt, often a lot less.

Unfortunately, she lost the match, 1 down on 18. Her opponents' handicap is 12. That opponent took 40 to 50 seconds per swing and spent at least 30 seconds to find a puttingline... now that is slooow!

jev wrote:

birdieXris wrote: I think 15 seconds is a little short for any shot from the tee or fairway. My tee and fairway approach is 20-25 seconds on a bad day. I don't think 15 seconds is too short. Remember, this is on average, it includes tap-ins and drives, counted from the time a player arrives at the ball up to ball-contact. I'm a referee and put a flight on the clock recently during matchplay championships. One player (handicap 20) consistently took 10 to 12 seconds per swing. She didn't look rushed but just arrived at the ball, club already in hand. One practice-swing, take stance, waggle and hit it. On the greens she took 3 to 5 seconds to find a puttingline, lined up, hit. Never more than 15 seconds per putt, often a lot less. Unfortunately, she lost the match, 1 down on 18. Her opponents' handicap is 12. That opponent took 40 to 50 seconds per swing and spent at least 30 seconds to find a puttingline... now that is slooow!

Oh well if you're talking averages, yea then 15 seconds is plenty.

birdieXris wrote:

jev wrote: ... and you still finished 74, right? You know, we all have been hackers at one point. I don't care if people need a lot of shots, I just don't like it when people need 45 seconds per shot. On average, 15 seconds shoukd suffice. Taking 45 seconds creates an extra 45 minutes on a round for a typical mid-handicapper. I'm with you jev. I think the "preshot routine" of some of the guys i play with is entirely too long. I think 15 seconds is a little short for any shot from the tee or fairway. My tee and fairway approach is 20-25 seconds on a bad day. That's enough time to get a line to the target, check face alignment, grip, foot alignment, take as many as two practice swings, take a deeeeeeep breath and pull the trigger. That's a lot of stuff. on chips and putts, it's less because there's not nearly as much in the way of mechanics and things that can "go wrong". The guys that do the sergio regrip 5 times and take 6 peeks at the hole before hitting just bug me. 5 or 6 practice swings on a simple chip is a little overkill too. It's as if the club has moved in their hand and the hole is walking away, they need to keep checking. Ok i'm done. LOL.

Funny....the closer I am to the hole, the longer I tend to take with my pre-shot routine. I disagree in that a LOT more can go wrong with a chip shot than with, say, a drive. My bad drives are still recoverable for par. When I hit a bad chip shot, though, that usually makes par impossible.

The only exception are the rounds where I just can't find my tempo. Then, I'll take as many practice swings as I need to find a good one. But on a typical day, I measure tee height with my driver heat, I take my one practice swing, I step up to the ball, waggle once, and hit away. Total time elapsed...10-15 seconds. I rarely take that little of time on a chip or a putt.

bkuehn1952 wrote:

Bryan K wrote: I don't ever pick up. Why? Attempting to not be critical, what benefit do you see in hitting that 11th or 12th shot?

He just wants an accurate avg score:)

bkuehn1952 wrote:

Bryan K wrote: I don't ever pick up. Why? Attempting to not be critical, what benefit do you see in hitting that 11th or 12th shot?

The thing that I am working the hardest on this year is not letting one bad shot affect my next shot....or not letting one bad hole affect my next hole. The way I look at it, recording an 11 or worse on a hole, at least for me, is either going to require some extremely rare bad luck or it's going to be the result of me getting frustrated to the point where it affects my game. Getting that frustrated is no longer allowable for me, and if it happens, I need to have a record of it.

Plus, if I pick up, even with equitable score control in effect, the round is no longer eligible to be used towards my handicap.

Bryan K wrote:

bkuehn1952 wrote: Bryan K wrote: I don't ever pick up. Why? Attempting to not be critical, what benefit do you see in hitting that 11th or 12th shot? Plus, if I pick up, even with equitable score control in effect, the round is no longer eligible to be used towards my handicap.

If playing out a hole beyond single digits helps your game then I can't disagree with your first point. As to the matter of recording a score for handicap purposes, you are not correct.

Excerpt from USGA Handicap Manual:

A player who starts, but does not complete a hole or is conceded a stroke must record for handicap purposes the most likely score. The most likely score may not exceed the player's Equitable Stroke Control limit, defined in Section 4-3. This most likely score should be preceded by an "X." There is no limit to the number of unfinished holes a player may have in a round, provided that failure to finish is not for the purpose of handicap manipulation.

Once someone exceeds their course ESC, it is perfectly acceptable to pick-up and record the ESC. If one were to pick-up prior to reaching their ESC, then one is required to estimate the most likely score and then turn the score in for handicap purposes.